Why TONE Isn’t My Top Priority as a LIVE MUSICIAN
Hey guys, my name is Scott, I’m a full time musician, and I’m not obsessed with my tone. In fact, it ranks 6th on my list when I’m looking at new gear. I explain my reasoning in this video…
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0:00 – Intro
2:42 – Priority #1
3:19 – Priority #2
4:24 – Priority #3
6:59 – Features
8:34 – Price
9:28 – My Favorite Sounds
10:30 – Features Comparison
11:38 – Audience
14:32 – Tone Setup
15:10 – Theatrics
17:03 – Outro
???? MY LIVE RIG: ????
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◆ “Intelligent” Guitar:
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LbCQ60
◆ ELECTRIC GUITAR:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/1r5z49
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/3c7WywC◆
◆ WIRELESS GUITAR SYSTEM:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/JzrZ7q
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/3GfeTHP
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/438379?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ WIRELESS MIC:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/eKyPL1
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/47KiMTt
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/499598?offid=1&affid=1856 (this is with sm58)
◆ Wireless In Ear Monitor System:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/Py0nMe
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/3B3ZbhE
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/436481?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ HELIX:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/MmXEZN
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aYtM1t
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/366537?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ HX STOMP:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/xk9oB3
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/2y1XWCs
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/450218?offid=1&affid=1856
???? MY IEM RACK EQUIPMENT????
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◆ MIXER:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/R5yE7N
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/2yJpahl
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/310536?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ IEM SYSTEM:
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◆ IEM SYSTEM 2:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/Py0nMe
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/3B3ZbhE
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/436481?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ SENNHEISER Directional Passive Antenna:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/3eeEVA
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/42vINSB
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/519465?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ RF VENUE Passive Antenna Combiner:
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◆ POWER CONDITIONER:
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???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/224463?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ RACK CASE:
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◆ MIDAS 4816 O SPLITTER:
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???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/46DYavQ
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/545085?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ RACK MOUNT WIFI ROUTER:
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/544731?offid=1&affid=1856
???? OTHER GEAR TO CHECK OUT ????
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◆ QUAD CORTEX
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/eKyPz6
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/486992?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ SHURE SM7bd Studio Mic:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/g15JDA
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/40yf5wJ
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/573672?offid=1&affid=1856
◆ EV Evolve 50 PA System:
???? Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/QyOEoY
???? Amazon: https://amzn.to/2y7LbGg
???? Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/422436?offid=1&affid=1856
???? OTHER VIDEOS TO WATCH ????
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◆ Intelligent Guitar: https://youtu.be/Ausw3WiCEtg
◆ Best Battery Powered Mixer: https://youtu.be/VbD-4cDhh8k
◆ Sennheiser EW-D Wireless: https://youtu.be/ooepXHTG_1c
◆ Wireless Tiers Guide: https://youtu.be/Xi2JcMomjQ0
◆ Everse 8: https://youtu.be/W5USqCOMOLc
◆ Mackie Showbox: https://youtu.be/TKxZ-_Y2iFk
◆ Bose S1: https://youtu.be/zKJVmToOXz4
◆ Why I Sold My Guitar Amps: https://youtu.be/oXGCapCYTSE
◆ I’m Pro-Backing Tracks: https://youtu.be/HOkmXdZpIkM
◆ I Use An Ipad Onstage Sometimes: https://youtu.be/ft309ZbqXho
???? VIDEO SETUP: ????
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◆ CAMERA: https://amzn.to/3vg4R54
◆ LENS: https://amzn.to/3KFN4NP
◆ MAIN LIGHTS: https://amzn.to/3Gj2Fjz
◆ BACK RGB LIGHTS: https://amzn.to/3I2Yc5S
◆ TRIPOD: https://amzn.to/3dv2RvB
◆ DESK MOUNT: https://amzn.to/3WJvCuB
◆ MONITOR: https://amzn.to/3viKeWg
Edited with Gling AI: https://bit.ly/46bGeYv
*Links are affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you anything extra to use those links, and is a free way to support the channel ????
#TONE #Isnt #Top #Priority #LIVE #MUSICIAN
Originally posted by UCy7EJQlczYnEhL_C-qxcYuQ at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elAiYDYyWQY
Thank you all for watching and commenting! And congrats to the winner: @ralphedward1711 I’m glad to see so many people connected with the video. I was a bit nervous about this one because musicians can get extremely defensive about tone. But I’m glad to see a lot of commenters share my view. And even if they didn’t, they understood the video. Cheers everyone, thank you again for watching and commenting ???? There will be another contest for next week too. See you then (and remember, I’ll never ask you for money in the comments). Cheers!
This video here just justified what I’ve been thinking a lot lately I’ve been stuck in the middle of tone no wait just play no better tone I feel I get lost searching and searching for better tone sometimes and I just want to play so I agree awesome video man this shit needs to be said there are way to many tone snobs and people focus way to much on it
Midas is part of Uli Behringer´s Music Tribe group. I had assumed the same pre-amps are used across the whole group of companies products.
100% for live shows it’s a fool’s errand to chase toan. Nobody cares. My current project is an indie folk duo and we both play little 3/4 size travel acoustic guitars purely for convenience (long story but we’re both beleaguered dads of young kids and we needed playing in this band to be utterly frictionless). After every show people tell us how amazing our guitars sound. No, they don’t. They really, really don’t. Their perception is warped by the fact that we delivered interesting and emotive songs in an entertaining way. The little guitars made that easier and the sacrifice in tone paled into insignificance.
great video scott. I'm really happy with my newer transistor bass amp thats light weight and easy to carry from gig to gig as opposed to my old tube amp, (you know, the one with the warm and rich sound) that i felt like I needed a fork lift to haul the dam thing around. nobody in crowd commented either way when I was experimenting alternating the different amp for gigs. Especially when playing in a 4 pc blues band. food for thought. Convenience with good sound vs being a tone purist with heavy equipment. no brainer, imo. Pls Keep your video's coming scott. you are appreciated.
baby got back and always honest practical advice about what really matters. Much appreciated
You basically described my attitude on the topic to a T…of course I love the vibe & feeling of standing in front of a roaring stack, pants flapping…but it's 2024. There has to be a a legit reason most major acts are touring with direct rigs, because besides stability and convenience…the audience just does not care about tone. If I were younger & gigging, I would be using the Amp1 stuff from BluGuitar, with a Tech21 FlyRig as a backup. Period. Great channel, love the content.
It is simply endless if you are a guitarist
My Baby Got Back home yesterday ????
Observation: the section on Audience is also applicable to today's political environment. The massive influx of alt-right religious influence that is taking over is just like the purist musician who just needs it to be exactly like they say, or else it's crap. The "good" musician understands that music is for everyone, so they need to equip themselves to suit the commonality in the audience, just like the "good" politician represents every person in their constituency by exercising power ONLY over secular aspects of life, and leaves their religion at the door. Keep this stuff coming.
This is the most important video you've released, Scott. The first 3 minutes was perfectly said.
I have basically tried every multi-effects possible. None one them were good enough or made me wanna play them. Now I have a pretty heavy pedalboard with H&K AmpMan. It's a hassle but I love it's sound.
Thank you Scott for another extremely helpful and useful video! I agree with all your points, especially that the audience doesn’t really know or care as much about the tone as we musicians do.
As a small example, I attended a small outdoor concert this past summer and I was shocked at how horrendous their acoustic guitar sounded. It bothered me the whole evening, but the crowd couldn’t care less. They were just having fun with the musicians and enjoying the music. They were giving tips and clapping heartily after every song.
Excellent tutorial as usual mate, thank you. ????
TRUTH!
I agree with the whole notion that going to extreme lengths to get the absolute best tone is a waste of time. They can likely get a much better tone by practicing more. Baby got back.
If you were to use bbeats for a syncd backing Trac, video, and midi ques for a dmx lighting system, what lighting board would u use. I'd like a board that u programmed in software, then downloaded it to the console. Obviously the console would need to accept midi ques
Have a question that’s not about this video. I use a Yamaha dogle to transmit midi messages to a sound module. Sometimes if there too many cell phones at the events it goes crazy. Does the midi master stop some of that?
Thanks!
John
As a bedroom warrior that has a hard time making myself practice, tone is all I have! ????
Scott – all of your videos are great. This one really hits home for me. I play a lot of live shows and concur! Baby Got Back!
Absolutely great video. Spoken like an actual working musician. What you spoke about regarding theatrics. I think this is actually a huge part of getting your tone right. Having your effects and clean dirty changes to deliver the required drama during the set is actually more important to me than the fundamental tone. Are the changes in the song working to deliver liver the right drama live and am I contributing to that as best I can as a member of the band. It’s all about that for me.
This video saves me months.
I was going down this rabbit hole…
As a live sound engineer I really appreciate this humble acknowledgement of the reality of playing live. What you hear on stage is completely different from what the audience/customers/payer of your salary hear – especially if you use in-ears. Much time is not spent wisely during setup/sound check dialing in a tone that only 1 person, you, will ever hear. You may find that working with the engineer to shape your tone with the PA and room may be much more productive. When possible try to get out in the audience space to hear what they hear. Don't give up trying to improve tone – just don't obsess over it. Cheers
Why care about tone when you play through a trainwreck 6000 PA
HX Stomp: incredible tone in a convenient and affordable package. Awesome! (Baby got back)
I can relate. Cable free/ practical stuff over tone purism. Works for me.
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That is such an important video. We’ve all fallen for that trap. Like you say, if it’s important to you and makes you happy, then do it. But the audience just doesn’t notice those things. Unless of course, the PA for the guitar tone has a big spike in the most sensitive part of their hearing. But even then they might complain. It’s too loud, rather than “there’s too much 3Khz!
Thanks, Scott! Totally agree … baby got back.
I usually let the mixer handle my bass tone, to suit the song best
Thank you for all your hard work, especially for this video.
and when baby got back…
All of what you said is very true. I find it more of a balancing act in choosing gear. Balance between budget, features, tone, etc. But in the end the gear wins that has the workflow/architecture that fits my needs and gives me joy to work with.
I also try to be as compact as possible as long as I have to carry everything myself.
I like the honesty and realistic expectations of finding and using gear. It really helps hearing from you the reality of playing music in front of an audience is that they just want to be entertained. They don’t care what pedals, guitars, amps, or other things you are using
I've been lucky enough to see scott play some of the shows he cut clips of into this video, and have been in the same music scene as him and I can tell you he's wrong about 1 thing, even the other musicians didn't talk about his gear or tone, we all talked about his playing and stage presence. Also calling spiral cell just him and a looper super undersells that show, it's basically a multimedia stage production centered around a concept album performed by a mad scientist.
I am not a full time musician but play in a local cover band. When we started ten years ago we had amps etc but very quickly adopted the philosophy you discuss. Everything that can be wireless is wireless, and we use digital modelers. We run a prison us mixer set up that allows us to control our main mix and an ear mix from our iPads. What I can tell you is that the consistent feedback we get from audience is that we sound amazing. Everything is balanced and clear. No one has ever commented on tone except for a few old school sound guys and musicians. If the gear makes the show better and set up and teardown easier and still sounds good enough, that’s what matters in a live show. I truly don’t understand musicians who schlep around their big amps nowadays. It just doesn’t seem worth it with the technology we have these days.
I've been on this soapbox for decades, and I think it extends to recordings as well, albeit to a lesser degree.
As a musician and studio engineer I entered a phase during which I got caught up in the typical minutiae; sample rate & bit depth; distortion figures, "tonewoods", mics, amps, cables, connectors, clean power etc. Sometimes I could hear a difference between two options and sometimes I couldn't but eventually it dawned on me that unless the sound coming out of the speakers was downright offensive in a particular context then it was probably good enough and there was no sense fussing over it any further.
What I'm NOT saying is that tone and texture are not important. They absolutely are. The timbres of a recording are usually inextricably entwined with the arrangement and performance. Often times as a consumer of music I get excited or even emotional when I hear the little tonal and textural quirks of the sounds in a record.
As a music maker, it's important to find sounds with the right characteristics, and sometimes it's worth diving down rabbit holes, but for 80% of sounds, once you're 80% of the way there, realize that you're ahead of the curve and then MOVE ON.
Great vid as always Scott! 100% agree! The crowd does not care at all about tone!!
I too am always telling people "the on-stage bit, I'm doing for free. I'm been paid for everything else"
Another couple of phases come to mind with this topic. "People listen with their eyes" put on a great SHOW and people will love it no matter what you sound like.
And some people just have "all the rig, but no gig"
Baby got back
Great advice! It does really make me think about where I should place my priorities as a guitarist. Baby got Back!!!